how much and how many are expressions used for ask for the amount of something.
The use of these terms is related to the use of the words many and much.
So, before we see the explanation of when to use how many and how much, it is important to remember the use of many and much.
much and Many
Many and much they are quantifiers (quantifiers), that is, they are words used to refer to the quantity of something.
Let's see below what is the difference between many and much.
Use of many
Many is used with nouns countables. It means many/many.
Examples:
- The girl has many aunties. (The girl has many aunts.)
- Many of the employees didn’t go to work today. (Many of the employees did not go to work today.)
Use of much
much is used with nouns countless. It means a lot/a lot.
Examples:
- Let’s go! We don’t have much time. (Let's go! We do not have much time.)
- There’s not much water in the jar. (There is not much water in the jar.)
when to use how much and how many
The main difference between
how many and how much is that how many is used with countable nouns and how much with countless nouns.Use of how much
how much (how much/how much) is used to ask for the quantity of something countless.
Examples:
- How much water shall we drink a day? (How much water should we drink a day?)
- How much money do we have? (How much money do we have?)
- How much Coke did you drink? (How much Coke did you drink?)
- How much time did she sleep? (How long did she sleep?)
- How much sugar do we have left? (How much sugar do we still have?)
- How much juice did you have? (How much juice did you drink?)
how much it is also an expression used to ask for the price of something.
Examples:
- How much is this doll? (How much does this doll cost?)
- How much are these notebooks? (How much do these notebooks cost?)
- How much does this bag cost? (How much does this purse cost?)
- How much do these toys cost? (How much do these toys cost?)
Use of how many
how many (how many/how many) is used to ask for the quantity of something countable.
Examples:
- How many boys are there in your classroom? (How many boys are there in your class?)
- How many dogs do you have? (How many dogs do you have?)
- How many days are there in a week? (How many days are there in a week?)
- How many kids can you see in this picture? (How many children can you see in this image?)
- How many bottles of milk are there in the fridge? (How many milk bottles are there in the fridge?)
- How many brothers does he have? (How many brothers does he have?)
Video
Watch the video below, see some tips and know the difference between how much and how many.
Read too:
- Nouns (Nouns) in English
- English Noun Plural Rule
- Few and little
- this is that
- This, that, these and those
Exercises
Complete the sentences with the correct option.
1. ______________ sisters do you have?
a) How much
b) How many
Correct alternative: b) How many
2. _______________ months are there in a year?
a) How much
b) How many
Correct alternative: b) How many
3. How much ______________ is there in the fridge?
a) bottle of milk
b) bottles of milk
c) milk
d) carton of milk
Correct alternative: c) milk
4. How many _____________ are there on the table?
a) bottle of wine
b) bottles of wine
c) wine
d) glass of wine
Correct alternative: b) bottles of wine
5. ______________ team do you we have left?
a) How much
b) How many
Correct alternative: a) How much
See too: Food in English (food)
